Autumn Veggie Soup

Roast em and stew em - that's all there is too em!

I don't know about y'all, but I roast just about everything I can. Veggies, fruit and meats all get nice and toasty and caramelized from high heat and a little salt to draw out the moisture. Roasting veggies has become my MO for getting picky eaters (y'all know who you are) to eat all kinds of veggies. Broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, okra, zucchini, squashes of all sorts and onions too all find their way into the oven and onto plates. Roasted sweet potatoes with rosemary and onion... Oh my my!

I love, love, love vegetable soup. But I have a few stipulations to this stew of sorts. I don't care for potatoes in my veggie soup - can't say why exactly but I don't. Potato soup though is perfectly fine!

I also want my vegetable soup to be seasonally apropos. Modern grocers and canning allows us to eat summer produce in winter but there's something about keeping a seasonal nod to the soup that's quite enjoyable. For me it's the squashes and Brussels sprouts that make this soup fallish!

Another veggie soup stipulation - I don't love frozen veggies to make my soup. I love that this soups freezes but that's a whole other lesson in chemistry in frozen fresh and frozen cooked food. Canned, fresh or "put up" from summer are just fine. In a pinch, the frozen kind will work.

A big ol Dutch oven or big soup pot and a couple roasting pans is all you'll need for cooking - love a one pot, one pan meal!

For my Autumn Veggie Soup, I use a mélange of roasted veggies and a base of onion browned with pancetta or country ham. "Brown the onion first." Mimi and Mama taught me that. Can't go wrong with browned onions as a start to any supper!

As for the stock, a mix of chicken stock and tomato juice is the key. A third to two thirds respectively is good. More or less depending on how "soupy" you want your soup.

Slice and drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper and then roast some broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, autumnal squashes of your liking and even a pepper or two until browned and nearly crisp. They'll reconstitute in the soup!

To the browned onion and ham, throw in some celery too, for I truly believe that celery is unmerited for its cooked flavor. Add canned, crushed, stewed and/or freshly chopped tomatoes to cook down with the browned onions and allow their acidity to deglaze the pan.

Season liberally as you add ingredients, simmer and serve! My family loves Pepper Jack cheese on just about anything and this soup is no exception.

I think that pancetta and Brussels sprouts were made for one another - they're romance of finding one another in the soup pot is truly and story for the ages.

Plus, y'all, this soup can feed pharaoh's army and "freezes beautifully" (Steel Magnolias... Need I say more?). Whip up a batch of cornbread or make quesadillas or grilled cheese (same thing almost right?) or simply serve on its own. This soup gets better as is sits, so enjoy again the next night.

Take some flavors of the season and a traditional soup too and you've a feast! I hope y'all are enjoying fall - it's flavors, temperatures and scenery!

Rosemary and Red Onion Apple Pork

Yeah... The name say it all. Those flavors all melded together in one pot no less is divine. Give me flavor complements like sweet and salty or sweet and tart or sweet and savory and I'm in love! This dish bodes well for such culinary complements!

Braising is probably next to roasting as my favorite cooking method for many things. Taking a meat and braising - not boiling it - is a delicate method to delicious cuts of meat! Gently infusing a gorgeous pork chop with apple cider is nothing short of divine. And this dish is easy and relativity quick! Wilt some kale in it and you've a one dish wonder!

I start with a Dutch oven and begin browning the pork chops on either side to form a slight crust. Salt and peppering the pork and high heat allows this. Searing them may be technically more apropos in culinary diction but y'all get me! Once the chops or even tenderloin are seared and crusted, I remove them from the pan onto a plate to rest.

Next, in the onion or two go to brown in the Dutch oven...No shock there folks! I use Mimi's adage, "butter for flavor, oil for temperature!" I really like to use red onions for this dish because they're color is so lovely - plus they caramelize fantastically! Brown the onions in some butter and oil and salt  and pepper handsomely. This is the base of your meal y'all and adding salt at the end to me doesn't do salt and pepper their true justice of bringing out their companions' natural flavor.

Once the onion begins to brown, I add chopped apples - a mix of sweet and tart such as Granny Smith and Fuji. I also like to throw in some whole garlic cloves to brown, sweeten and soften - they're delicious all mushed together with the apples and onions. 

Once this mixture has melded together and smells utterly heavenly, I throw in some rosemary... Who knew that the smell of those ingredients could make the Angels sing? Once the rosemary softens a tad and is quite aromatic, add the pork back to the Dutch oven and pour in a splash of white wine to deglaze the pan and  then some apple cider. A cup of cider per pound or chop will do the trick!

A nice little time in a 375 oven - say 25-30 minutes or until pork is medium well to well done - will make your kitchen smell even more heavenly. If you'd like a green element to the dish, add some kale! It'll wilt down almost instantly upon removing the dish from the oven.

Pork is naturally sweet and thus fairs so well with apples and onions. This little piggy adores this dish all fall and even into wintertime. I hope y'all do too!

Farmer's Camo Pasta

I’m not a big hunter. My brother-in-law, cousins, uncle and friends make up for my lack of time spent in a deer stand or duck blind… But, I do love camo – it is surprisingly chic mixed with denim and I’ve seen it sported fashionably (albeit unknowingly) by many a gentleman in The South… and even a lady or two.

As hunting season waxes down here, I couldn’t help but be reminded of a favorite fall dish – my Camo Pasta. This pasta, mixed with Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, kale and mushrooms is about as fatigue-fashioned as they come. Even the whole wheat noodles join in the camo color scheme. All melded together, this combo makes for a delicious fall supper and I even love it better the next day – which so many things find themselves better. It is better the next day in my leather chair and Netflix binge-watching… which is where you’ll find me enjoying this dish over the deer stand I’m afraid- ha!

Here’s to autumn, its colors and hues and flavors – all mixed together in a pasta dish ready for the hunt. Add wild game or chicken or shrimp to your liking. Enjoy y’all!

Camo Pasta

1 box of whole wheat spaghetti or Angel Hair pasta

1 red onion, chopped

Olive oil

Butter

3 cups of white wine

About a pound of mushrooms, sliced

About a pound or less of Brussels sprouts, halved

1 head of cauliflower, sliced into florets and then sliced further

About a dozen whole garlic cloves

3-4 cups of kale, shredded or torn leaves

1 heaping cup of freshly grated mozzarella

Salt and pepper to taste

On a baking sheet or roasting pan, spread the cauliflower and Brussels sprouts and drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper. Roast at 415 for about 15 minutes or until they are golden brown. I love the nuttiness that roasting these veggies creates. Don’t crowd the pan – use a couple pans if need be and keep an eye out on them. A little bit of butternut squash or sweet potato is good roasted too and adds a bit of sweetness.

Cook the pasta according to instructions – always salt the water and add a splash of olive oil too.

In a heavy bottom Dutch oven or large pan, brown the onion in some olive oil and butter. I always go by what Mimi said: “Oil for temperature, butter for flavor.” The butter will be a part of the sauce so a good half stick works just fine. Season the onion with salt and pepper.

Once the onion begins to brown, add the garlic cloves and mushrooms. I like to get said ingredients browned quite well – their flavor is much more intense when sautéed to a golden brown. Plus, the garlic cloves get soft and sweet – a great complement in this savory dish.  Season with salt and pepper at this step too. I season with the layers of ingredients.

Combine the browned veggies with the roasted veggies and add the wine. Allow the wine to deglaze the pan and reduce by at least a third. This wine with the deglazed bits and butter is your sauce.

Add the kale and allow the kale to cook (which it will rather quickly) in the wine sauce.

In a baking dish, thoroughly combine the veggies and pasta and sprinkle with the mozz – bake until melted and slightly browned. Enjoy!

Summer Garden Pasta

Meteorologically speaking, fall has fallen. Maybe in parts well above the Mason-Dixon Line or high in the Appalachians, crisp mornings and whispers of Autumn proper are upon y'all. When I'm in Cashiers, I can feel it too, but whilst back in Perrydise, the equinoxes have not yielded one to another and summer still reigns supreme. 

Indian Summer is what this seasonal limbo is often referred to. And summer garden produce is still coming in too! With the plethora of produce, a couple of my favorite dishes make their way to the table this time of year. In Dinner on the Grounds, I have my Cashiers Farmers Market Pasta, and from A Time to Cook, my Summer Garden Pasta comes to life on the pages. 

I love this pasta. It's simple and delicious and full of flavor. It can be doused with cream and covered with cheese or served simply without the cheese and cream ... yet be so elegantly fresh and light. It's even better the next day reheated!

Plus, this is a pot and pan dish. Boil the pasta in a pot and sauté the veggies in a pan. Mix it all in the pan and serve! There'll be some chopping too but it's a fun meal. A meatless meal but you'll never miss it... Unless you just want a piece of salmon or some shrimp or sausage for good measure.

This dish is an all time fave of mine and my family. I hope it becomes one for you and yours! Enjoy this season of summer fading to fall and all the produce the season affords! Happy eatin' y'all! 

Summer Garden Pasta

Recipe from A Time to Cook – Dishes from my Southern Sideboard

Photography by Helen Norman

½ pound pasta, shape of your choice

2 shallots, peeled and minced

1 medium Vidalia or other sweet onion, chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

½ pound tomatoes, chopped

1-2 small yellow squash, diced

1-2 small zucchinis, diced

salt

freshly ground black pepper

dash of red pepper flakes, optional

4 ears of corn

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1/3 cup roughly chopped basil leaves

1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar

1 cup or more heavy whipping cream

¾ cup grated Monterey Jack or Parmesan cheese

¾ cup panko breadcrumbs

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and then transfer pasta to a large baking dish sprayed with cooking oil.

In a large, deep skillet, cook shallots and onion in a pan with olive oil and butter over medium heat until they are caramelized and crispy. Add the chopped tomatoes, squash, and zucchini and stir together. Season to taste with salt and pepper; for a bit of heat, toss in a dash of red pepper flakes.

Remove corn from the cobs and add to the skillet; stir. Once the veggies have softened, add garlic and basil and stir gently (the pan is probably getting full). Pour in the vinegar and stir to release any caramelized bits stuck to the bottom of the pan and wake up the flavors. Now add a gentle pouring of heavy cream, amount depending on how creamy you want the sauce, and stir well.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Once the cream begins to simmer, transfer the whole panful to the baking dish filled with cooked pasta. Gently mix the vegetables and pasta together. Distribute cheese over the top. Sprinkle breadcrumbs over the top. Bake until the cheese is melted and the breadcrumbs are toasted, about 15 minutes.

Whole Wheat Blackberry Muffins with Citrus

Summer fruits and veggies start coming in this mid to late summertime heat. Often, it is not just a lil’ bit of ‘maters or peaches or squash – it’s a bushel and a peck! Blackberries for us are one of those crops. We have stands of wild blackberries down the dirt roads and edges of the woods on our property that fill our baskets with berries and, in turn, give us all sorts of blackberry delights!

From cobblers and crisps to jams and salads, we have found many an excuse to devour blackberries. Aunt Kathy, with her astute culinary prowess, makes these blackberry muffins that we all clamor and beg for during berry season. The whole wheat flour is heartier and holds up better, since the muffins are laden with berries. A citrus sauce makes for the perfect glaze, and I have found that I love citrus with blackberry any ol’ time!

Sprinkle a scant amount of a course sugar atop the muffins after glazing with the citrus sauce and see if you have any leftover for tomorrows breakfast! Hope y’all enjoy these as much as we do!

Whole Wheat Blackberry Muffins with Citrus
Recipe from A Time to Cook – Dishes from Southern Sideboard
Photography by Helen Norman

1 stick butter

3⁄4 cup whole wheat flour

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 3⁄4 teaspoon soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

1 cup buttermilk

2 eggs, beaten

1 3⁄4 cup blackberries, sweetened if desired

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place paper liners in muffin tins.Melt butter. Sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl and make a well. Pour buttermilk, eggs and butter in the well and mix with dry ingredients until moistened. Then fold in blackberries. Divide batter evenly among the muffin cups. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until lightly golden.

Citrus Sauce

1 (12-16 ounce) jar marmalade

1 teaspoon freshly squeezed* orange juice

1 teaspoon freshly squeezed* Meyer lemon juice

1⁄2 teaspoon zest from orange and Meyer lemon

Warm the ingredients together and pour over muffins as a glaze while muffins are still warm.

*Freshly squeezed juice is key. Peels of the rinds also make lovely garnishes

QVC: In the Kitchen with David

ITKWD or “In the Kitchen with David” is the top rated cooking show on QVC that sells everything you could EVER want, need, dream of or not even know you need! I’d seen my friends Brandon Branch and Mrs. Paula on the show along with other authors and cooks I know or have read and always thought that such an opportunity would be so fun. Y’all, it was!!!

The opportunity presented itself several months ago and the lead time was an amazing process. Conference calls, trips to Pennsylvania for training, recipe selection, planning, planning and more planning all took time and energy to build up to the big day. If y’all are every by chance in the West Chester, PA neck of the woods, stop in and take a QVC tour – it is unbelievable in size, scale, logistics and production!

David Venable is a terrific host – warm, jovial and Southern too! Such a trait was a relief, considering that my recipe selection involved Mac-n- Cheese, Fried Okra and Sour Cream Biscuits! And, not to brag – never mind I’m bragging – my food was awarded THREE “Happy Dances” from David himself – tied for the record! Grown-up Dirt Cake, Cornmeal Catfish, Chocolate Ganache Poundcake – y’all I had enough food there for Pharaoh’s Army to feast! The food stylist and kitchen crew did an amazing job bringing my recipes to life and staging the table too! I LOVED that after the quick eight minutes of air-time, the camera and production crew descended on the table and feasted in a frenzied fashion! They kept going on and on about how good it all was… I simply told them to come on Down South for more!

 

The build up to air-time, the prep, the planning and the travel were all worth it! I hope y’all caught a glimpse of yours truly on ITKWD on QVC – it was the chance of a lifetime! I am so thankful for such an opportunity and hope to have another chance one day. Until, then, I’ll be cooking from Dinner on the Grounds and dancing a “Happy Dance” or two of my own… and maybe cooking from the pans I ordered and slicing, dicing, chopping and chiffonading from the knifes I bought too! Ha!

Summer Berries and a Happy Fourth, y'all!!

Y’all have fun Fourth of July plans I’m sure. Lakes, beaches, poolside barbeques and fireworks will fill our rosters and blow up our social media (@jamestfarmer BTDubs for my Instagram) and I can’t wait to see all those fun pics! I may even sneak a pic of Baby Napp… who am I kidding… I snap pics of that child every chance I can! I LOVE being Uncle Brubbs!!

My sisters, bro-in-law, Baby Napp and I will all be together on the Georgia coast with some friends fishing, enjoying the scenery and eating of course! One thing I’m sure to mix up this weekend is my Summer Berries with Mint Whipped Cream from Dinner on the Grounds.

Elegance and ease go hand-in-hand with this dish, and the splash of mint flavor melds the whole dish together. What is it about fresh summer herbs and produce? Nothing better!!! Plus I love that it can be served in heirloom silver berry bowls with berry spoons or right out of a Mason jar or Solo Cup! And it’s the perfect, refreshing dessert to any meal.

Stir up a bowl of your favorite summer berries, whip up a batch of minted whipped cream and celebrate our freedom! I can hardly think of a better way to celebrate… well maybe with a second serving! Happy Fourth, y’all!

Summer Berries with Mint Whipped Cream

Recipe from Dinner on the Grounds – Southern Suppers and Soirées

Photography by Emily Followill

I am fascinated by the accouterments that accompany food. Berries in particular have their own spoons and bowls and even boats (as does gravy). Yet, in all the elegance that can be construed from silver service and fine china, there is hardly anything more elegant than the berries and whipped cream themselves, period. I like add a splash of mint extract to the cream for an ever-so-delightful flavor boost. And then I like to garnish with mint.

2 pints fresh berries

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1/2 cup sour cream

Splash of vanilla

2 tablespoons powdered sugar

Pinch of cream of tartar*

1/2 teaspoon mint extract or more

Mint leaves for garnish, optional

Wash and dry the berries; slice the larger ones if you wish. Divide among four individual dishes.

Whip the two creams together with the vanilla, sugar, cream of tartar and mint extract. Dollop whipped cream on the berries and garnish with mint.

*The cream of tartar thickens and also stiffens the creams, and I recommend it only when needing the cream to remain fairly stiff. I actually like the cream to fall and drizzle into the berries.